Get more from your wireless network

As the price of networking equipment has dropped, and with increasing numbers of homes having more than one computer, the number of people with wireless networks has skyrocketed.

Setting up a network is easier than ever, and a wireless network provides a quick and easy way to share an internet connection between two or more computers without the need for cables.

But your network is capable of much more than just internet access and sharing files between your PCs. In this feature we’ll reveal how you can use your wireless network to stream music and video to your television and hifi, print wirelessly from anywhere in the house, and much more.

If you’ve yet to set up a network, our Ultimate Guide to Wireless Networking provides all the information you’ll need to get started. ­ It costs £5.99 from here.

Copy right
As anyone with a wireless network will confirm, the ability to share files between several computers can come in very handy. You may be working on a notebook computer in one room and realise that a file you need is stored on your desktop computer.

As long as file sharing has been correctly set up, there is no need to go to the desktop computer and copy the necessary file onto a CD or USB Flash drive. Instead, it’s possible to connect to the desktop computer using the network and copy the file wirelessly.

The same method of sharing can be used to access one computer’s music or photo collection from another computer. By storing music and photo files on one PC, then accessing them from other computers over the network it’s easier to keep a single library organised and avoid duplicates. With some extra equipment, it’s possible to get the same convenience when listening through a hifi.

While it is entirely possible to connect a notebook computer to a hifi to listen to music through a decent set of speakers, there is a better option available.

The Pinnacle Soundbridge M1000 Music Player connects to your hifi via an audio cable and to a wireless network, so it can play music files stored on any PC connected to that network. The end result is like having a hifi with an iPod built in: you can select the songs you want by artist or album, giving instant access to even a huge music collection.

The Soundbridge can automatically detect existing music collections in Windows Media Player so there is no need for fiddly configuration. Available for around £130, it includes a remote control and can also play internet radio stations.

Many other products are available that do the same job as the Soundbridge. The Philips SLA5520 costs less than £100, and although it doesn’t look quite as smart as the Soundbridge it does an equally good job of playing music stored on your computer.

The Slim Devices Squeezebox 3 costs almost £200, but it works brilliantly and allows high-fidelity music fans to play lossless files that, unlike MP3s, contain all the audio information you’d find on a CD. There’s also a Soundbridge Radio with built-in speakers, and the cheaper Soundbridge Homemusic. This sacrifices the original model’s fancy display but costs less then £40.